Was There a Meteor in Michigan? Photos & Videos of Explosion in the Sky

Residents near the Michigan region have reported a “loud bloom” and a bright explosion in the sky tonight. They aren’t clear exactly what they saw, but early reports from the National Weather Service indicate that the reports of the bright light in the sky might be from a meteor entering the atmosphere. Homeland Security is also saying the sightings were from a meteor. People quickly began sharing photos and videos using #meteor on social media, trying to decipher what they saw. If you saw something, let us know about it in the comments below. The video above was taken on I75 northbound near Bloomfield Hills.

After reviewing several observational datasets, the NWS can confirm the flash and boom was NOT thunder or lightning, but instead a likely meteor. We continue to monitor feeds from astronomical agencies for official confirmation of a meteor. #miwx

Meteorologist Jordan Dale, from the National Weather Service in White Lake, told Detroit Free Press: “It looks like from videos and reports we’ve gotten (that it’s a) meteor. However, we cannot confirm it’s a meteor. At this point, we’re just sticking to what we know — and it was not thunder or lightning or weather-related.” This next video was from southeast Michigan:

Residents said the explosion was seen around 20:08 local time in the Detroit area. Some said that they could see the bright light even through closed blinds. A resident in Rochester Hills said their house shook from the event. Reports of shaking came in from 50 to 60 miles apart, according to people in the area. Reports came in from areas including: Allen Park, Ann Arbor, Brighton, Chelsea, Commerce Township, Dundee, Durand, East Lansing, Ferndale, Flat Rock, Fowlerville, Highland Township, Howell, Jackson (Commenter B. Miler below said the explosion was huge and bright near Exit 139 I94), Kalamazoo, Livonia, Macomb, Madison Heights, Milwaukee, Newport, Northville, Novi, Redford, Riverview, Rochester Hills,Rochester (Maura told us in the comments below that she heard a loud “pop” sound in downtown Rochester), Rockwood, Royal Oak, Saginaw, Taylor, Toledo (Kristina, who lives just south of Toledo, told us in the comments that it “looked like a fireball falling from the sky”), Utica, West Bloomfield, Westland, Youngstown, and more.

Most people saw the light first and then reported at least one explosive sound later. On Reddit, one person put together a map showing some of the known sightings, but so many more reports are coming in that the map quickly became outdated. Here’s where some sightings were first reported as of about 8:45 p.m. Eastern, but more have been added since (as you can see in the bolded list above):

On Reddit, Piscator629 described what they saw in Muskegon Co this way: “I was sitting here at my desk and saw a fireball falling. It was not going downrange but fell somewhere near. It was in 2 pieces and flaming green with a tail just before it hit. Called 911 and apparently the local air-traffic control reports no plane crashes.” Meanwhile, Redditor lawmn wrote about the meteor: “I am in Youngstown area saw what I imagine to be a piece of it fall right in front of my car- bright green coming straight down – Didn’t burn out until about 50-75 ft from ground. It looked like someone shot a flare up and it was coming back down.” This next video shows the explosive light briefly turning the dark night as bright as day: